Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Artic with Bruce Parry: What's not to love?

You got to love Bruce Parry. He's so nice and polite, even when he doesn't have a clue what anyone is saying to him.

His latest devil-may-care exploits are taking him to the Artic where we shall watch him get up to all sorts, over five thrilling new episodes.

He does it so we don't have to.

He nods and and he smiles as a man - probably the village elder who emerges from his hut only on special occasions (who doesn't love a film crew?) - talks to him in his native tongue, which Bruce doesn't understand.

But fortunately for Bruce, he hasn't agreed to do anything too taxing this time - just a competitive yomp up the great big nearby Verkhoyansk Mountains, in Siberia.

Later, puffing and defeated at the top, he's got the good grace to admire the (literally) breath-taking view, and he'd even thought of the viewer too, as he'd also lugged a camera up with him. (Maybe that's why he lost the race?)

But what of his loved ones? His girlfriend? We know Bruce is an ex-Royal Marine, and as any attractive, drunken, former girlfriend of a Royal Marine will tell you (probably), they all make 'really shit' boyfriends, no doubt because they are away for months on end on missions of secret derring-do.

Still, I would suggest all of Bruce's followers aren't too troubled about what sort of partner he'd make in 'real life'. He's off the telly after all. The women who want him, and the men who want to be him, for an hour, as long as they're back for work in the morning, will love him unconditionally.

Bruce Parry, we salute you and your impeccable manners.

And behold: the BBC website has this rather nice 'my favourite moments' piece on him, in a section called Human Planet Explorer, which is the kind of title you have to read two or three times to check how much sense it makes.